


the chess game

by celeszono



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Falsettos - Freeform, Kokichi is a brat, M/M, but I love him so much, but make it saiouma, but they have no real importance, playing chess, postgame v3, shuichi needs a break, the rest of the cast is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeszono/pseuds/celeszono
Summary: After the end of Season 53, Shuichi remembers an old trick to get his mind off of the events he experienced.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Kudos: 27





	the chess game

When it came to chess, Saihara Shuichi considered himself decent. He knew how to play and how to win, several strategies included. The game itself was about thinking ahead, instead of thinking of the present. It was better to think turns in advance, that way you’d know what your opponent may be thinking. 

Saihara had deduced this from his uncle. Or at least, that’s what he was told anyways. Now, attending a killing game with sixteen different students of different talents, watching them all die helplessly only to find out that it had all been a fabrication was a difficult thing to settle with. Not only did he have to wait for his classmate’s awakenings, he had to suffer endless nights lying in bed with the deaths playing over and over. Really, it didn’t sound as bad as it was. 

Therefore, the former detective had picked chess up as a hobby. Sometimes he’d play with Harukawa, who surprisingly was good for never really playing before. Then, he’d play with Amami when he had woken up. He never expected to win against Amami really, the traveller was exceptionally smart for someone who had been dealing with brain damage and memory loss from his death in the simulation. Then, there was Tojo. Saihara had only played Tojo once, specifically because he deduced she let him win. Allowing your opponent to win was never truly satisfying. The list goes on; Hoshi, Shinguuji (who had always won against the other), Yumeno, Iruma, Gokuhara (who surprisingly did quite well for his first matches. Saihara was proud of him), and Momota. Saihara refused to challenge Chabashira in fear of being thrown by her. When exiting the simulation, she had kept her bitter opinion on men and how they were “the scum of the earth.” However, she was mainly bitter towards Shinguuji, understandably so. The former aikido master had been quite nice towards Hoshi and Momota, as well as Saihara when they interacted. 

Yonaga was out of the question too. He had asked her one time, only to be told that his blood would be used as a sacrifice if she won. The list was boiled down to three people; Akamatsu, Shirogane, and Ouma. He didn’t entirely want to face Akamatsu in fear of her being a sore loser and him pitying her. Saihara wouldn’t even stand a chance against Shirogane, she was far too smart for her own good. All that was left of his classmates was Ouma Kokichi. The idea itself doesn’t sound too bad; however, Ouma’s tricks and mind games would not be appreciated when playing chess. Saihara preferred to play in silence, so most times he would with the exception of small talk. Still, Ouma’s small talk consisted of far too personal to answer questions. Some of these questions included family relations, which most of the cast could not recall, or questions from the simulation. Most times, the questions made everyone on edge and for that, many refused to interact with Ouma. Of course, there was the exception of Gokuhara, who frequently visited Ouma to make sure he was alright. Then, the liar opted for bothering Momota and Iruma from time to time. 

Saihara deduced that he would give it a try, no matter how uncomfortable he may become. So he headed off in search of the gremlin. First, he checked with Iruma, who had ultimately made him uncomfortable with her countless sex jokes. Most of which were pointed towards him and Akamatsu at first, then steered towards him and Ouma. Still, he apologized for bothering her and went on his way. Next was Harukawa. It may not seem like it, but she pays close attention to where everyone is and isn’t. She mentioned he should be in his dorm, but when he looked Ouma had no longer been there.   
He then left to look for Gokuhara, and what surprised him was Ouma sitting down near the lobby’s table. A chess board, laid out and ready to be played with. Ouma had been sitting in front of the white pieces, leaving an open spot for the black. 

“I was once told it’s rude to keep your opponents waiting, Mister Detective,” The purplenette snickered as he spoke, hands folded in his lap. Saihara mumbled quietly before falling silent, stepping over a few things lying around to sit by the table. Ouma had been sitting with his legs crossed, and Saihara had copied him. 

“My apologies, Ouma-kun. I actually was trying to find you.” 

“Wellll, you shouldn’t have been. I’ve been waiting here all day for my beloved to come and battle against me in a grand game of chess!” The boy pouted dramatically. That was another thing Ouma had kept, his sparkling personality. “But, in all due respect, I don’t actually know how to play chess! Seems like the almighty Saihara Shuichi will have to teach poor old me.” 

Saihara sighed at the obvious lie. He clearly remembered being offered a round of chess in the killing game, although he never acted upon that offer. Still, he decided against ratting out the other and played along. 

“Well, I’m sure you know how the pieces work considering you must have set this up.”

“Ding, ding, ding! Your deduction is correct, although not completely. I only read the box, so I truly have no idea what I’m doing!” Ouma’s tone was that of a child’s, giddy and content. It was slightly unnerving, considering how well he lies to the detective knowing he can see right past it. 

“Then all that’s left for you to do is move a piece,” the former detective glanced up from the board, though he never met Ouma’s eyes. In fact, he looked anywhere but his eyes. Even now, eye contact had been a great fear for him. With that, the game was afoot. Ouma confidently reached his hand up and grabbed a chess piece, which so happened to be the king. Saihara made a noise of disapproval, causing the other to whip his head up to look at him. 

“That’s, um, the king… it’s better if you protect him than play him immediately.” At this moment, Saihara genuinely wondered how much Ouma lied about never actually playing chess. Chances were that he actually didn’t know, and this would be his first match against anyone ever. Though, he was somewhat proven wrong when the other rolled his eyes. 

“Yes I know. No need to point out the obvious, I simply was testing you,” Ouma huffed, staring down at the board. Seconds turned into minutes, almost to the point where Saihara concluded almost two full minutes passing before Ouma made a move. 

“Are you going to play the game, Ouma-kun?” 

“Yes I am! Don’t watch me, I can do this.” 

From that question, he gained another pout. Slowly but surely, he doubted his knowledge and had begun to assume Ouma truly never played chess before. Still, the boy’s hand moved away from the king and over to the knight. Again, Saihara made a displeased noise, almost shaking his head. Keyword, almost. 

Ouma decided to ignore him this time, moving the knight in front of his pawn. Now Saihara had shook his head, his eyes darting from the board to Ouma. The liar huffed at this, leaning back and crossing his arms. “Since you’re sooo good at chess, why don’t you tell me what to do, hmm?” 

Bitter.

Saihara nodded to that, folding his hands in his lap. “Start again-- um, move your knight back and try again.” 

The two then fell back into a silence. Who would have known that playing chess with Ouma Kokichi would be so irritating. Saihara probably would, which is the reason he put it off for so long. Now, he didn’t hate Ouma. Just certain things he did he disliked. Mainly the lying, but it’s the smaller things over the larger things. He had forgiven him for all of his “crimes” and would gladly defend him if need be. Nonetheless, Saihara tapped his finger against the table as he waited. Ouma’s eyes glared at the finger, causing the former detective to stop and take his hand off the table. After that, no verbal interactions were held for a few minutes.

Ouma spent time sighing, staring at the board as if he were studying and memorizing it. Clearly, he was not. He simply did not know where to begin. Saihara cleared his throat, causing the boy to look up.

“You could, um, move a pawn.” 

“Nope!” 

“Move-”

“Where?” Ouma mumbled now, glancing up slightly. Saihara pointed in front of the pieces in the second row. 

“There.”

“Here?”

“Move a pawn.”

“Who?” Ouma had asked, tilting his head to the side. The former detective sighed, holding his face in his hands.

“Not the queen-”

Ouma simply giggled at that. He grinned widely, glaring at the ravenette. “I’ve been told winning is everything to you, Mister detective.”

“Nothing is everything to me.” Except the people around me. Saihara wanted to add. He wanted to add how much everyone meant to him, including Ouma. If he was being honest, he enjoyed the liar’s company a little too much.

“Nothing is everything to me!” The boy copied Saihara’s words, almost mocking him in a way. “Ooo! Except that one time when Momota-chan and I were in the-”

“Move a pawn,” the liar was cut off. Saihara did not want to think about the killing game. He specifically used chess as a distraction from the memories. Although talking about it is unavoidable with Ouma, it was still worth a try. 

The boy stared at the detective before scooting one of the chess pieces forward on the board. Now, the game was finally starting, and properly this time. To top it all off, Saihara was pleased with the placement. “Good first move,” he smiled quietly. Ouma had been sitting up straight, hands hidden in his lap. 

“Thanks… take your turn,” He nodded, glancing down at the board, then to ‘his beloved’. 

“I will, thank you.”

Saihara stared at the board. Even in games, trying to predict the workings of Ouma Kokichi was pointless. He was unreadable, some would even say erratic (that some being Momota). A sum of time had passed, that amount Saihara was unaware of. Ouma had leaned forward, mumbling a “move the pawn,” to copy the other’s earlier statements. Upon looking up, the liar’s face was quite close to Saihara’s own. It startled him a bit. He didn’t comment on it, simply staring down at the board once more. And, again, he heard Ouma mutter “move the pawn.” It was louder this time, loud enough to be heard by anyone in the room. That anyone would be no one, though. It was only the two of them, and it would stay that way. 

The leader held his hand out, as if asking Saihara if he wanted help. Hesitantly, he took that hand. Said hand guided him to a pawn, picked it up and pushed it forward. Ouma had helped Saihara move his piece. The detective didn’t say anything, staring at the other for a moment. It seemed to be that Ouma was doing the same, slowly leaning away from Saihara and huffing.

“What should I do now?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“Move.”

“Where?”

“There-” Saihara replied, pointing down to a space in front of a pawn. Ouma rolled his eyes, moving the pawn there. 

“How should I behave, Mister detective? You look fussy.”

“You sound fussy.”

“Chess ain't how your boyfriend thinks!” Ouma spoke louder than before, waving his hands about as he spoke. Boyfriend? No, no. they were far from boyfriends. In fact, they were far from close friends. If anything, they were two strangers. Saihara knew nothing about Ouma, as did to him. But, that was a lie. Because Ouma knows everything about Saihara, and Saihara knows a lot about Ouma. When he thought about it, they argued like lovers sometimes as well- fighting over who gets the last cookie, making a fuss over a fight with another friend, who sits where, ect. Iruma had even compared them to lovers. Oh, the audacity she has.

“This game stinks…” Saihara mumbled, rubbing the sides of his head. He had enough of Ouma today, he shouldn’t need to start an argument with him. The two fell silent, until Ouma spoke up again. 

“Let me win.” 

Saihara sighed, hesitant to shake his head. He thought about it. Letting the other win would result in a loss for him, but it would avoid conversing about pointless things. So, the detective nodded. 

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks!” Ouma smiled, placing another piece around the board. Saihara didn’t even remember placing his next piece.

“Wait-” Saihara mumbled, trying to think. Instead, Ouma moved a piece for him. The boy practically played speed chess by himself. 

“Kichi wins!” He chanted, continuing to move the pieces around the board. Saihara reached his hand over to grab his arm, only for it to be swatted away.

“W-Wait-”

“Kichi wins!” 

“Hold on-!”

Ouma moved his next piece near Saihara’s king, grinning widely. “Checkmateee!” Ouma dragged his words out, grabbing the detective’s piece and waving it in front of his face. It was like stealing candy from a baby- only the baby was a fully grown adult and the baby was the one stealing. Saihara huffed, standing from the floor and walking away. His chess game was finished, Ouma had one. That way he no longer needs to interact with him.

No, Saihara Shuichi does not hate Ouma. In fact, it’s the very opposite. Saihara cared deeply for the other, some would even go as far as to say he loved the lying brat (some being Akamatsu). Although, Saihara was not a sore loser. Him getting up and simply leaving, however, was out of pure spite. He was frustrated; he wanted to be left alone. And yet that alone time would not come to him, for Ouma quickly got up after him and followed him out of the room. 

The rest of the day was spent with Ouma, mainly pestering Saihara with countless questions about his personal life. Saihara rarely answered, and if he did it would be a miracle if he answered truthfully. Of course, Ouma had known this. And, luckily, Ouma never pushed any of the questions. 

Right as the purplenette was about to leave, Saihara grabbed his arm. The shorter stopped in his tracks, looking over to the other. The former detective held out his hand, waiting a moment before mumbling;

“Fair game.”

Ouma took his hand, grinning to himself. It was relieving to him that Saihara still decided to put up with his bullshit. 

“Fair game, Shuichi.”

**Author's Note:**

> falsettos brainrot ugh. i kept thinking about marvin is just a bitter shuichi and whizzer is literally kokichi and now falsettos but saiouma! the fic itself is based off of the song "the chess game" in which marvin and whizzer play chess but i changed it to where they dont fight at the end bc i read irreplaceable you today and i cannot handle angst 


End file.
